North Cowichan Councillor John Koury is vying for the Conservative candidacy in Nanaimo-Cowichan’s next federal election.

Koury, who served as campaign manager for Conservative candidate Reed Elley during the October 2008 election, announced his intention during the municipality’s Wednesday council meeting.

“I just wanted to reassure my council colleagues that until such time an election is called, if and when it happens this year or next year, I will continue to serve out my duties as a municipal councillor in a non-partisan fashion, in dealing with the issues and with the information we have at hand, and working with the best interest of the community and the municipality,” he told council.

Koury was elected to his first term on North Cowichan Council in November 2008.

“I’ve been involved with the political process in the valley for about 15 years, and I’m very committed to the democratic process,” Koury said Wednesday evening. “I believe strongly that democracy is something that Canadians should celebrate and get involved with in a great or a small way, and I made a decision to get involved in a large way because over time I’ve developed a set of skills that contributes well to a job like this, including community skills, governance experience, and the exposure and experience I’ve had in federal politics -- in particular in the time I worked for the House of Commons as an executive assistant to a member of Parliament.”

While some suggest another federal election is imminent, Koury predicts it won’t come until fall 2010.

“Canadians don’t want another election – I don’t want another election, but the reality is that the Liberals are threatening to force an election, and the NDP have made it absolutely clear they want to bring this (Conservative) government down as soon as possible,” he said.

“But honestly, the Opposition have no real justification to force an election this fall. The next opportunity would be the budget in the spring time, which is on the heels of the Olympics so I suspect that would be a bad time, so the fall of 2010 seems to be a realistic timeframe.”

Meanwhile, Duncan chiropractor Martin Barker has also put his name forward for the Conservative candidacy, but could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

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